


Mummy troubles

by katerbees



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-26 14:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12559800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katerbees/pseuds/katerbees
Summary: Sherlock and Molly investigate a mummy mystery in Luxor!Fun halloween fic for holidays at 221B





	1. Chapter 1

“Are you coming along or not?” Sherlock paced the floor of the morgue.

  
“Sherlock, calm down, you’re not making any sense.” Molly responded, almost sounding bored, pushing her hair back behind her ears, trying to concentrate on filling out her forms. Sherlock showed up here ranting about some nonsense and now he was completely off his nut.

  
“You have no idea. Don’t you think I’ve approached this from all other angles? That I, Sherlock Holmes, have already exhausted all of my theories. Why else would I be here talking to you?” Sherlock yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

  
Molly wrinkled her nose. She was almost use to his arrogance. Almost. “Yeah. How about you don’t show up and ask for me my help and then insult me? Tends to work better that way, eh?” Molly responded. “Besides. What you’re asking is out of the question. I’ve got a full schedule ahead of me.” She clicked her pen, shuffled her paperwork and sat in into her outbox.

“How can you know that you have a full schedule Molly? You’re able to predict people dying now?” Sherlock countered.

“No, but I have been at this job long enough that I know what the average amount of post-mortems I have to do is. I can’t go to Egypt with you. It’s impractical. Take John and Harriet and I will watch Rosie.”

“You cannot be serious.” Sherlock rolled his eyes at her. Did she really think anyone else would be able to help him do this? He had clearly stated what the case was.

Molly just looked at him, raised her eyebrows, and took out her phone. “Yeah. I’m clear for babysitting on my normal days. Shouldn’t be a problem.” She replied flatly.

Sherlock stared at her incredulously. Molly Hooper. Telling him no? What sort of world was this. He walked across the lab and stood behind her. “Molly… Hmm…you’ve changed your perfume recently. It smells very nice. Mixes with your natural pheromones much better that the last one.” Sherlock stated, trying a different approach.

“Yeah, you should really stick to the insults Sherlock, your compliments don’t really have the effect they once did. Nice try.” She gave a quick smile. “I did switch perfumes though. They stopped making my old one.” Molly put her mobile back in her purse and turned off her desk light.

Sherlock pouted. For the most part he preferred that Molly was so much more confident than when they had first met, but it was much harder to get her to do what he wanted. He breathed a deep sigh. “Molly. Please. This case is troubling me greatly. I need a pathologist. And you are the best. I need you. No one else will do.” Sherlock had put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a slight squeeze.

Dammmit. Molly thought. Dammit dammit dammit. Here she thought she was getting over her Sherlock crush. A weekend in Egypt for a case. A case that surely would be debunked in ten minutes flat.

“Fine.” Molly acquiesced. “I will join you for the weekend. But it will be a massive waste of time but” Molly tilted he head back to look at him, “you will owe me a favor.”

“Of course.” Sherlock said, a broad grin covering his face

“A huge one!” Molly smiled.

Sherlock kissed the top of her head.

“Pack a bag. A car will get you at 8.” Sherlock was striding towards the exit, pulling oh his coat and looking super cool.

Molly rolled her eyes and chided herself slightly. Molly Hooper and Sherlock Homes investigate a Mummy. Was this 1917 or 2017? She had thought he was joking when he came flying into the morgue ranting about necrotic tissue samples and eye witness accounts. Security footage and sarcophagi. Well. She had never been to Egypt before. And a weekend with Sherlock Holmes. She felt herself blushing. She had stood up for herself quite well right up until that shoulder squeeze. Her cheeks grew warm at the memory. Oh well. Regardless, he was her friend and if she could help soothe his concerns by conducting an autopsy or two, she would do it.  
\---------------

 

The car took Molly to a private airport. Sherlock was waiting by a C-37B Jet, ready to go.

“What’s this?” Molly gestured to the plane, her mouth practically hanging open.

“A Gulfstream 550. Egypt recently upgraded from the IV”

“No. I mean, why are we on the apron of a private airport beside a fancy jet?” Molly messed with her overnight bag. “I figured we’d be off at Heathrow with EgyptAir or something”

“Ah.” Sherlock responded, looking at her smugly, “I suppose in all the commotion of begging you to join me I forgot to mention we are traveling at the invitation of the Egyptian government. They requested we take the case.” He took Molly’s bag from her and began to ascend the steps into the plane.

“We?” Molly asked, as she followed him on board.

“Oh yes. The Ministry of State for Antiquities requested me and my best forensic pathologist to come immediately.” Sherlock smiled, placing Molly’s bag in a seat, his own bag next to him.

Molly smiled back at him. “Alright. What all can you tell me about the case other than the creepy spooky stuff from yesterday?”

Sherlock’s face suddenly formed back into its cool composed countenance. “I would never propagate any sort of “creepy spooky” nonsense Molly. I presented the facts to you already, however since you don’t believe me here is the file so you can start familiarizing yourself before we land. Once we arrive we are to head straight to the Mummification Museum and meet with Dr. Eslam Najjar, he is our liaison to the Ministry. “ Sherlock handed her a file full of photographs, autopsies, lab reports, and witness statements.

“Alright then, I guess I’ll get started on this,” Molly said, slipping on her glasses.

“What are those?” Sherlock asked.

“oh? These? A most fantastic invention. The glass is actually bent in such a way to improve one’s vision” Molly replied wryly.

“Sarcasm does not suit you Molly. Those glasses though are rather nice. I didn’t know you required corrective lenses.” Sherlock responded.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been blind as a bat since I was in middle school. I usually wear contacts but I figured the plane air would dry my eyes out so I decided to bring my glasses instead. My contacts are in my overnight bag though,” she gestured to the bag sitting next to her.

Sherlock studied her for a minute, thoughtfully. “I like them.” He said quietly.

“Thanks.” She responded shyly. “Hey Sherlock...” she began, but he had already taken off to his mind palace. Well, this would be a boring 6 hour flight.

By the time they landed in Luxor Molly had read the case file forwards and backwards and she understood why Sherlock was so excited about the case. And why he sounded so spooky when talking about it. Molly felt a shiver going down her spine. Stop it! She yelled at herself. This was silly.

A car was at the airport ready to take them to the Museum. Molly almost wanted to pinch herself. She was in Egypt. With Sherlock Holmes. She had loved reading about Ancient Egypt when they studied it in primary school. So close to the birthplace of civilization. She felt lucky to be there.

The car arrived at the Mummification Museum. A tall man, likely in his mid-fifties was waiting for them.

“Mr Holmes?” The man asked, extending his hand

“Yes. Dr. Najjar?” He replied, meeting the doctor’s handshake.

“And this must be either your wife or your pathologist?” Dr. Najjar indicated towards Molly who had just come around. She felt her cheeks become hot. Play it cool Molly, you’re on a case, she reassured herself.

“Oh she’s my..” Sherlock started.

“Dr. Molly Hooper. Forensic Pathologist.” She forced out through her slight blush and extended her hand.

Dr. Najjar returned her handshake. “Excellent. Dr. Hooper, Mr. Holmes. Thank you for coming all this way. Please, follow me, this is a sensitive matter better studied in my office.”

It was difficult for Molly to keep her focus on the two men in front of her. There was so much cool stuff in the museum! Mummies everywhere! Human mummies, alligator mummies, canopic jars. It was all so fascinating. Once this case was wrapped up, if they had time, she would come back and walk around.

They soon arrived in the Doctor’s office. He began speaking as soon as he shut the door.

“I hope you two can understand the need for secrecy on this. The security breach alone is worrying enough, the ramifications of the autopsy are another, and the tourism is another item to consider…” he was beginning to ramble.

“With respect Dr. Najjar,” Sherlock began. Molly held her breathe, Sherlock interrupting someone was never a good thing. “Dr. Hooper and I will use the utmost discretion getting to the bottom of this. We are both familiar with the files and would like to have access to the crime scene as soon as possible.”

Molly loosed her breathe. Sherlock was being professional for a change. Odd.

“Of course. I will have you go to your hotel and change.” Sherlock opened his mouth to protest but Dr. Najjar was having none of it. “I studied for a while at Oxford, let me assure you both you do not want to wear those London suits into the tomb. It will be over 100 in a few hours, wear your suit and you will pass out from heat stroke. Once you are ready, we will meet Dr. Rahal at the Tomb.”

\------------------------------

Sherlock and Molly were delivered to the Luxor Hilton within 10 minutes and were in the beautiful lobby. Molly was snapping photos with her phone nonstop, grinning from ear to ear.

  
“Molly what on earth are you doing?” Sherlock asked flatly.

“Come on Sherlock,” Molly said smiling, “I never travel! And this hotel is amazing!” Snap snap snap . Sherlock smiled one of his rare Sherlock smiles. He took out his phone, and took a picture of Molly. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen her so happy.

Sherlock stepped up to the desk and checked them in.

“Come on Molly, the terrifying mummies won’t wait all day.” Sherlock yelled across the lobby.

“Shhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!” Molly yelled as she came bounding over. “Discretion!!” She whispered much too loudly.

“You know, you sprinting over here while yelling at me to keep quiet was probably the LEAST inconspicuous thing you could have done” Sherlock said while rolling his eyes.

Molly frowned and studied his face. “Shhhh” she repeated.

“Oh.” Sherlock began to walk into the elevator. He turned back and looked Molly directly in the eyes “By the way, they only gave us one room.”

“Fantastic.” Molly said. Nothing was going to ruin this trip to Egypt for her. “I didn’t know I was being put into a romantic comedy and yet here we are.” She spoke in the most casual voice she could muster. She turned to face the elevator doors. “What floor?” She asked, even though her heart was pounding and her stomach had butterflies a weekend with Sherlock in the same hotel room. No! Yes! Yes! Noooooo.

Sherlock snorted a bit. Could he in fact, read her mind?

“What’s so funny?” Molly yelled, looking over her shoulder at him.

“Thirteenth floor.” Sherlock laughed, not sure why he found it so funny.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Molly said as she hit the button, “I’m in a romantic comedy horror this weekend, aren’t I?”

\---------------------------------------

Molly sat her weekend bag down on the bed and grabbed a loose flowing long skirt, white blouse, and sensible shoes. She couldn’t believe they were going to enter a Tomb that was thousands of years old. And it had only recently been discovered. She and Sherlock were going to be some of the first people to be allowed in. Molly beamed as she took her outfit to the bathroom to change. As she did so she noticed Sherlock had already stripped into his boxer briefs. Molly tried not to stare. The man had no shame. Such good shape. How. He doesn’t even work out. Genetics? No. Mycroft was prone to weight gain. Stop staring.

“Molly,” Sherlock looked up at her, fiddling with his pants and belt.

I’ve been caught. So much for playing it cool.

“Could you please check to see if there’s a coffee maker in the bathroom.” He put the slacks on; a cotton blend.

“Of course.” Molly forced out. Nope. He didn’t even notice. Of course he didn’t. Bollocks. Get it together Molly. You are a grown woman. A doctor. You have seen Sherlock indisposed before.

She walked into the bathroom, found a coffee maker and prepped it. She changed into her warm weather clothing and exited, “Coffee’s ready Sherlock.”

“Thank you.” Sherlock, still shirtless, brushed past her and into the bathroom.

Molly’s cheeks flared. He had to be doing this on purpose. Prat.

“Coffee, Molly?” his smooth voice called from behind her, holding a take-away cup and holding the small carafe.

“No thanks. Hurry up and put a shirt on, we haven’t got all day.” Molly quipped as she began to pack her backpack.

“Coffee is important Molly. Unless you’d rather I track down some cocaine. It would work much faster.”

“Nope. Drink that coffee Sherlock, but put a damn shirt on.” Molly put her backpack over her shoulders.

“I don’t want to spill coffee on it. I only packed two shirts.”

“I’ll be in the lobby.”

Had she turned around she would have seen a huge grin on Sherlock’s face.

\---------------------

A taxi took them across the Nile to the Valley of the Kings. Dr. Najjar was waiting for them. A security checkpoint with two armed guards had been placed 25 feet in front of the tomb. The entrance to the tomb was guarded by another security officer.

“Dr. Najjar.” Sherlock greeted. “was this security in place during the incident?”

“Prior to the break in, there was only a guard at the entrance. Now we have additional security out here, badge checks here and at the door. Only authorized museum staff and Antiquities staff are allowed in. So far only 6 people. Myself, Dr. Rahal, and our support staff.” Dr. Najjar walked up to the checkpoint, handed his badge to the guard, then handed him two more and spoke to the guard in Arabic. The guard looked at Sherlock and Molly, looked at the two badges and nodded at them to continue.

“Here you go, security badges for the two of you to have access to the tomb while the investigation is underway.”

“How many guards were assigned to the door of the tomb?” Sherlock asked as they covered the expanse between the checkpoint and the entrance.

“Two. The one who was on duty that night swears he only left his post once to relieve himself and was only gone for two minutes. He didn’t hear anything unusual from out here. And there is no way someone could have done what was done in two minutes.”

“Indeed.” Sherlock responded raising his eyebrows.

They reached the last security guard and their badges were investigated. The guard took his time, studying each pass, surely showing off since the project director was here, Sherlock thought.

He returned their badges to them. Dr. Najjar distributed headlamps to Sherlock and Molly and they entered the tomb.

What first struck Molly was how cold it felt all of a sudden. The air outside had been at least 100 degrees, yet in the Tomb she was downright chilly. The air was musty and smelled old. It also had a smell that she recognized yet couldn’t quite put her finger on for now. It also smelled like old paper.

Sherlock was making mental notes on how much time it took them to reach the inner chamber from the front door and how much noise their footfalls were making.

As they approached the inner part of the tomb, they noticed a light coming from inside.

“Ah, Dr. Rahal must already be here.” Dr. Najjar said to them.

The three of them entered the chamber. It was 15 feet by 12 feet. The walls were covered in hieroglyphics. Many pictures still had coloring to them since they had been so well preserved by the elements. Looking away from the walls, Sherlock observed there was crime tape surrounding certain parts of it, tables had been set up for preserving evidence and sorting artifacts, and in the middle of the room was the sarcophagi with a square cordoned off in front of it. Markings were drawn in the dirt on the ground.

Sherlock moved his gaze to a woman sitting at one of the tables, cataloging evidence. She was in her early 40’s, well dressed, and comfortable in this environment.

She had not seemed disturbed at all when they entered the room, nor did she seem ill at ease even though a crime had been committed here a few nights ago.

Dr. Najjar cleared his throat. “Dr. Rahal, the investigators have arrived.”

Dr. Rahal turned her head. “Hello.” She leaned heavily onto the table as she got up, reaching for a solid black cane that had been blending in with the dark tomb.

She walked over to greet them. “I am Dr. Heba Rahal. Forensic archaeologist and Senior Director of Excavation on this project.” She stuck her hand out to greet Molly.

“Dr. Molly Hooper, Forensic Pathologist” Molly shook her hand, “And of course, this Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective.” Molly gestured ot the man at her side.

“Dr. Rahal.” Sherlock gave a small nod and shook her hand.

“I am cataloging the small pieces we found on chest #4 at the moment. I look forward to you all getting to the bottom of this so I can move on to more exciting things than cataloging a deceased person’s rock collection.” She gave them a smile. “Everything that I really can’t wait to get my hand on is currently considered evidence.” Dr. Rahal gestured to the center of the room.

Sherlock moved over to the edge of the polic tape. Mollly Followed.

“Doctors. What language is this?” Sherlock inquired.

“Coptic.” Dr. Rahal responded. “Clearly it wasn’t there when we discovered the Tomb, we found it the morning of the suspected break in. Or if you believe the local gossip, the break out, “She rolled her eyes.

“What does it say?” Molly asked.

“Beloved. Renew. Rise.” Dr. Najjar responded, standing in the doorway. “It’s quite unsettling. And disrespectful. They vandalized a tomb and a location of extreme historical significance.”

Sherlock was studying the writing with a magnifying glass.

“Right well the writing itself is an issue. But has anyone else inspected the body yet? I’ve seen the report on the tissue samples but I would like to investigate them for myself.” Molly asserted.

“Not yet, we wanted to leave everything as close to how we found it once we realized the scope of what had happened.” Dr. Rahal responded, moving back to sit down. “I took the tissue samples myself, however it was my husband who did the labwork on them. We frequently collaborate on projects such as this.”

Molly chewed on her lip. She would need to see the samples herself to really believe it, and even then there was a potential chain of custody issue that would need to be investigated.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Dr. Najjar’s voice cut through Molly’s thought pattern. She looked around in confusion.

Sherlock was wiping away the Coptic writing, tearing down the police tape.  
“I’ve seen all I need to. In order to make any progress I need Molly to examine the body and I need to interview the guards. Everything else is a waste of time and a distraction.” He quickly said as he erased the remnants of the last word.

“That could have been a message!” Dr. Najjar yelled without thinking.

“From a mummy?” Sherlock gestured to the sarcophagus. “A 3000 year old Mummy. It got up and wrote us a note. How thoughtful. Come now Doctor. You are a man of science. There is no way you believe that this mummy has actually come to life. That some writing on the floor raised it from the dead. No.”

Sherlock moved to be closer to the body. “This is the work of a person . The writing is a ruse. The mummhy is a distraction. We just need to figure out what from.” Sherlock was eye to eye with the sarcophagus now, fingers steepled and eyeing it intently.

“Of course Mr. Holmes. However, the tissue samples don’t lie.” Dr. Rahal responded from her cataloging station.

  
Sherlock didn’t respond to that. He wasn’t sure how someone had slipped living samples into the hospital, and he wasn’t about to accuse her husband yet without even meeting the man. “Indeed.”

He turned back to Dr. Najjar. “When can Molly see the body?”

“We can have our team assemble here tomorrow morning and move the body to the morgue at the hospital.”

“Really? It can’t be any sooner?” Sherlock questioned.

“Well Mr. Holmes, as you have so illustriously pointed out, It’s not like it’s going anywhere any time soon is it?” Dr. Najjar responded. Proud of his witty comeback, he turned and moved to leave. “I’ll be outside when you are ready to leave.”

Sherlock took one last sweeping look around the tomb and followed him.

Molly was still studying the sarcophagus when Dr. Rahal spoke.

“It’s so wonderful meeting another female scientist. And another forensic specialist.” She smiled at Molly,. Molly turned and returned the gesture.

“Yes. It’s definitely a male-dominated field. This is all so interesting. How often do you find new tombs?”

“Complete intact ones are rare. This is only my third tomb, and the first one I’ve been the director of. Of course with my luck, it’s got the haunted Mummy that we’ve heard all about from Hollywood.” She gave a small laugh.

“Well, I’m sure Sherlock will figure it out quickly. Honestly, he’s probably already got it figured out and just needs to confirm one or two things. He’s the best at these sorts of things.” Molly reassured her.

“I hope so. I want to get back to cataloging and get to the exciting parts of the tomb.”

“I’m sure we will have you elbow deep in tomb in no time! I’m going to go ahead and head on out. It was great to meet you.Always a pleasure to meet another lady who hangs out with dead bodies all day.” The women smiled at each other and returned to their respective jobs.  
\-----------------------------

Sherlock and Molly were sitting at one of the restaurant’s hotels. Molly was enjoying her curry while Sherlock had only ordered tea.

“Are you sure you don’t want any? This is delicious.” Molly asked while scarfing down her food.

“I never eat while I’m on a case.” Sherlock reminded her.

“I think you’re secretly just a picky eater and won’t eat because they don’t have any chips.” Molly replied.

“Hmm. Well, the mystery will remain alive for another night I suppose.“ He responded dryly.

“Any theories?”

“5. However none can be confirmed until you perform your autopsy tomorrow. Start with tissue samples to confirm they match the ones that were submitted with the report and then go from there.”

“Got it. Are one of those theories that a mummy has been brought back from the dead by some cryptic Coptic writing and a spell?” Molly asked, giving him a teasing smile.

“Oh Molly. If I thought it was that, would I let you examine the crazed mummy’s body?” Sherlock winked at her.  
Was he flirting? What. What was that.

“Huh. I suppose not. A dead pathologist isn’t very useful” Molly replied.

“Not at all.” Sherlock responded.

Maybe not.

They returned to their room on the thirteenth floor.

“Alright, so I think it would be much more comfortable for the two of us if you slept on the couch.” Molly said, trying to really sell it to him.

Sherlock screwed up his face, “How the hell would a couch be more comfortable than that?” he gestured to the beautiful fluffy bed, covered in bamboo linens.

“I didn’t mean physically.” Molly responded, carrying pillows and a blanket over to the couch.

“No. No one is sleeping on that abomination.” Sherlock responded, unpacking his toiletries.

“I don’t want to sleep in bed with you!” Molly yelled across the room as Sherlock walked into the bathroom.

“Oh Molly.” Sherlock responded, “lying does not suit you.”

She felt her face catching on fire. This man. Why. Why did I think this was a good idea.

She marched into the bathroom. “It’s one night, just sleep on the damn couch.”

Sherlock as brushing his teeth. He rolled his eyes at her.

Molly found herself struck at how human Sherlock Holmes looked. In the bathroom. Brushing his teeth. Molly started to swoon a bit. She used to have daydreams that she and Sherlock lived together and would do fun things together, but also the nice normal boring things about a relationship. Things like brushing your teeth together at night and falling asleep next to each other. She snapped out of it.

Brat. Brat brat brat.

He rinsed his mouth out. “You feel free to sleep on that torture device, however I will not feel sorry for you one bit when you spend the rest of the trip complaining about how your back and shoulders hurt.” He dried his face on the towel and took off his shirt.

  
Molly shoved him out the bathroom door and began to get ready for bed.

She dressed in one of her old Uni t-shirts and some cotton shorts. She took out her contacts, brushed her teeth, and headed to the occupied bed.

Sherlock was thumbing through his phone, paying her no attention.

She grabbed a book and her glasses on her way to bed, got under the covers, and turned on her reading light.

Don’t look at him. Maintain your eyes on this book.

“Molly” Sherlock said softly in that deep smooth voice.

Oh God.

“Hmm?”

“Read to me.” He asked. He had put his phone away and was lying facing her. His curls spilling into his face, his mouth relaxed.

Shit.

“It’s not exactly high literature Sherlock.” Molly responded. “It’s a beach book. An easy read for vacations.”

“We’re kind of on vacation”

Molly laughed. He could be so normal sometimes.

“I guess we are.”

“Please.” He asked again.

“Why would you want me to read this to you?” Molly asked, daring herself to look at him.

“My mind races all day long. Sometimes I don’t sleep for days because it won’t let me. If I have something to focus on, like your voice, it helps me to calm down.”

Molly smiled. She had never noticed that, but now that she remembered, on occasion she had audio books playing while she was at Sherlock’s flat while he was detoxing. He would always fall asleep whenever she played them She thought it was because he hated the books she listened to. But now it made more sense.

“Ok.” Molly began to read the book out loud, Sherlock fell asleep within minutes and it took every ounce of control for her to not run her fingers through his hair so she could just once know what it would feel like. Don’t be a creep Molly. Go to sleep. But there was no one there to help her take her mind off the fact that she was in fact lying in bed with a man that she had been in love with for years. She tossed and turned. She rolled over onto her side to check the time on her phone. She sighed and put it face down.

At that moment, she felt Sherlock’s arm flail over her. Molly felt her face getting warm. And the rest of her. She could feel the heat of Sherlock’s body very near to her. He was like a human furnace. Calm down Molly! Oh well. Might as well enjoy it. She wasn’t a creep if she wasn’t the one going around touching a sleeping person. Molly fell asleep at last, savoring the weight of Sherlock’s arm on her body.

 

Little did she know that Sherlock had been waiting the entire time for her to roll over.


	2. Chapter 2

Molly awoke to a start. She had shared a bed with Sherlock Holmes. Eep! She was surprised to see that he was still sleeping, his angular face relaxed, his hands tucked under his pillow. So cute Molly thought.

 

“It’s rude to stare.” Sherlock’s sleep morning voice purred, as he opened his eyes.

Molly blushed, mortified. How does he do that? “Don’t flatter yourself.” She responded, rolling over to grab her phone.

“I’ve got to be at the morgue in an hour to do an autopsy. Are you coming along?” Molly got out of bed and began pulling her clothes out of her bag to get ready for the day.

“I have some other leads to check out first, I’ll meet you over there this afternoon.” He responded, still in bed. “Can you please make coffee?”

“Mmmm” Molly affirmed, taking her clothes into the bathroom.

Molly arrived at Luxor General Hospital ready to go. She headed down to the morgue and was met by Dr. Najjar.

“Dr. Hooper. We had the Mummy transported this morning and have had some scans done in radiology already. If you are ready, I will take you back to begin the post-mortem.” He said, opening the double doors into the hallway leading to the morgue.

A thin man walked out of a doorway and into their path, looking down at a file.

“Ah, Dr. Nazari! What excellent timing. This is Dr. Hooper. She’s the one who will be conducting the autopsy on the mummy today.” Dr. Najjar explained. “Dr. Hooper, meet Dr. Nazari. He’s the best neurosurgeon in Egypt.

The man looked up from his file. “Dr. Hooper.” He extended his hand. “Wonderful to meet you. I believe you met my wife yesterday, Heba.”

“Ah yes. Always exciting to meet other pathologists.” Molly responded. “And lovely to make your acquaintance as well. “

Dr. Nazari nodded, “Dr. Najjar, please let me now when the test results are done so I can go pick up my wife to examine them as well.”

“Of course Abdallah. I’ll page you.”

Dr. Nazari took his leave, exiting through the double doors.

“Alright, right this way.” Dr. Najjar continued down the hallway to the next set of doors.

The morgue was several degrees colder. Molly grabbed a coat and her exam gloves and walked over to the slab.

“Alright Dr. Hooper, unless you need anything else I will see you in around 2 hours.” Dr. Najjar commented.

“I think I’m all set, thank you.” Molly responded, eyes looking down at the body. Dr Najjar exited.

Alright Mummy. It’s me and you. If you could stay dead for me, that’d be great.

Molly had been given permission to take skin samples and conduct an external exam only. The other information would need to be gleaned from the scans. The samples that Sherlock had been sent featured alive tissue. But that couldn’t be. Molly decided to go ahead and take her own tissue sample first. She pressed record on her recorder

“Dr. Hooper, October 29, 2017. Autopsy on Mummy 18567. The wrapping of the corpse has already been removed. It is in remarkably well preserved condition. There is still some hair attached to the head. This corpse appears to be female based on the remnants of breast tissue and wide pelvic girdle. There are no obvious signs of trauma to the deceased.” Molly removed her gloves and moved over to a cabinet to search for rosewood sticks to swab the fingernails.

Molly heard a groaning sound behind her.

Oh hell no.

She ignored it. Surely it was her mind playing tricks on her. She was a confident pathologist. She had been doing this for years. Even though this was her first mummy.

She found the sticks and began to search for cotton swabs as well. The groaning grew louder.

If this is Sherlock messing with me I will kill him. She was going ot kill him. She steeled herself and turned back around.

The mummy was still there. Of course it was. Her phone buzzed.

Any updates?—SH

Not yet. Getting ready to swab the fingernails. You?—MH

Guard is definitely lying about something but I’m not sure what yet. I’ll need to try a different approach—SH

Are you coming over soon?—MH

Do you need me to? Is it getting SPOOKY?—SH

Really? Sherlock was teasing her? Who was this weird vacation Sherlock?

Of course not. Bring tea plz—MH

She put her phone back in her pocket. She walked back over to the corpse, put her gloves back on and swabbed under each set of nails. She placed the swabs in an evidence bag.

Alright, moving on.

Molly heard breathing. Heavy breathing. She was not imagining it.

“Hello? Is someone in here? I’m about halfway done here.” Molly yelled out. If anyone was trying to scare her or creep on her she was not having it.

She pushed forward on the autopsy. “I am preparing to take tissue samples from the corpse.” Molly got her swabbing kit ready.

The lights in the Morgue went out.

NONONONOWHY

“Someone is in here. Turn those lights back on at once.” Molly barked. She heard the breathing again. Closer this time. She felt something cold brush up against her hand.

NOPE. Molly ran for the door and didn’t look behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

 

Sherlock arrived at the hospital several moments later with two cups of tea. He noticed Molly was sitting in the atrium, her head between her knees.

“Molly?” he asked, concerned.

“Sherlock.” She looked up; she was pale as a ghost.

“What on Earth is wrong with you? Did something happen during the exam?” Sherlock asked, sitting next to her and handing her a cup of tea.

“Oh Sherlock. You’re just going to make fun of me.” Molly bit her lip and looked away.

“Perhaps. But I will endeavor not to.”

“There was someone or something else in the lab. Something that was growling. I yelled out thinking it was someone messing with me at first, but then I felt whatever it was breathing on me and it touched me and..” Molly’s calm resolve began to falter.

“Did you alert Dr. Najjar?”

“No, I don’t know where he is and I’ve only met one other person who works here. I didn’t want to sound like an idiot. ‘uhm excuse me, something breathed on me in the morgue, I promise I’m very professional, all the way from England’” Molly rolled here eyes at herself.

“Well. I’m here now. I’ve faced a murderer or two and some crazed killer hounds in my day, I think I can take on whatever it was messing with you down there.” Sherlock stood up. “I understand if you would rather stay here.”

“Oh no,” Molly jumped up. “I need to finish the autopsy.”

The two of them headed for the elevators.

\---------------

 

The morgue hallway was still eerily quiet. The sound of their footsteps reverberating through the space.

“Alright, I’ll go in first.” Sherlock stated as they reached the door to the morgue.

He swung open the door quickly and turned the light on.

“What in God’s name…” he began.

“What!? What is it Sherlock?” Molly yelled from behind him.

“The damn mummy is gone.”

“What!?!” at that, Molly pushed her way into the room. And sure enough, there was no body lying on the slab.  “That is ridiculous. Maybe someone came and took it for further testing. I bet it’s up in radiology.” Molly stated.

“Indeed.” Sherlock said.

“What?”

“Hmm?”

“You don’t think that’s what happened.”

“Nope.” Sherlock agreed, impressed at how far Molly’s own deduction skills had come along over the years they had been friends.

“You think the mummy reanimated, threatened me, and left?” Molly asked, gaping at him.

“I think that is much more close to what actually happened than someone taking it to be further tested. Especially based off you being spooked off.”

Molly began to open her mouth in protest, but realized he was right. She had definitely been spooked.

Sherlock pulled out his phone. “No signal down here. Come Molly, we need to get a hold of Dr. Najjar and get access to any security footage of this room.”

 ------------------------------

“What do you mean the cameras weren’t on?” Sherlock raised his voice.

“ I am sorry sir, the cameras have been out of order for some time. Given that there s very low risk involved with the morgue it was not marked as a priority.” The security officer responded.

“Oh well Fantastic. A 3000 year old priceless mummy was snatched out of your morgue, I can see where that might not rank up there with someone stealing pens from a supply office.” Sherlock continued.

“Perhaps if the pathologist in charge would not have left..”the security guard began.

“You leave Dr. Hooper out of this,” Sherlock shouted, instinctively putting himself between Molly and the guard. “She had to leave the lab due to a breach in security when somebody entered it and assaulted her.”

“That’s not possible Mr. Holmes. Badges must be swiped to enter any of the areas in the hospital.”

“Oh really? That’s news. I thought the perpetrator floated through a wall. Of course they swiped a badge! Is there any way to retrieve a report on whose badge was swiped in what location and when?”

The security officer just stood there.

“Oh for crying out loud. Let’s go Molly.” Sherlock turned quickly, almost running into her.

“Where are we….?” She began.

“Someplace where the sheer ineptitude won’t dull my senses.”  
\----------------------------

Sherlock was on the phone  in a taxi. “Dr. Najjar, yes, there’s been a situation. Oh. Really? That’s odd. Of course it is though. It’s all beginning to make sense. We will be there shortly.” He put the phone away. “To the Valley of Kings please.”

“What was all that about?” Molly asked. She could tell Sherlock was very close to solving this mystery but he hadn’t quite done it yet. She always loved when he did the big reveals. He was always so certain. So…sexy. Calm down Molly.

“The mummy is back in its tomb.” Sherlock responded.

“Wha..How? surely someone would have noticed corpse walking around in the middle of the afternoon. Or a person carrying a corpse!” Molly remarked.

“Yes. It does seem curious.” Sherlock steepled his fingers, exiting to his mind palace for the remainder of the journey.

\---------------- 

Sherlock and Molly moved quickly through the security checkpoints and into the tomb. Doctors Najjar and Rahal were both in there, in the middle of a heated discussion.

Molly slowed her walk in order to eavesdrop, but Sherlock charged ahead, jacket billowing through the stale tomb air.

“Doctors.” His smooth voice cut through the room. “I see our prodigal  Mummy has returned.” Sherlock began walking over to the corpse, which had been re-wrapped and placed in its sarcophagus.

“Please Mr. Holmes. Clearly there has been some kind of mistake. We have all of the data that we need, now let’s leave well enough alone.” Dr. Rahal said, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

Fear? Sherlock wondered. No. Not of the mummy. Hmm..It was all beginning to come together.

“With respect Heba that is not your decision to make. As head of the Ministry of Antiquities the discretion lies solely to me. I will not allow this nonsense to continue any longer. This Mummy is dead. Someone has clearly tampered with both this tomb and the lab samples. I will not be taken for a fool. Now kindly stay out of Mr. Holmes’ way!” Dr. Najjar bellowed.

Dr. Rahal gathered her dignity and walked over to a seat at her cataloging table.

“Thank you Dr. Now I am going to need Dr. Hooper to continue her autopsy and since the hospital cannot be trusted I suggest we conduct it right here, right now. Are there any objections, Molly?”

“No. Of course not. I’m eager to finish my report.” Molly responded, sitting a large doctor’s bad down that she had filled with supplies from the hospital morgue.

“Dr. Najjar?” Sherlock turned towards the older man.

“No. I am an interested in seeing this matter concluded as you two are.”

“Alright Molly, please continue from where you left off.”

“Ok” Molly said, pulling her voice recorder out. “This is Dr. Hooper, continuing my Autopsy on mummy 18567. This mummy has been moved from it’s location and had been redressed in it’s traditional linen wrapping.  Mr. Holmes and I will be moving the mummy onto a tarp and will begin to unwrap it.”

Sherlock and Molly awkwardly lowered the Mummy down to the prepared tarp and Molly began the delicate task of unwrapping it.

“It’s interesting to me that whoever did this took the time to re-wrap it.” Dr. Najjar commented while watching.

“Indeed. It’s as though they didn’t want us to find something.” Sherlock’s voice slowly crescendo-ed as he gave a pointed look to Dr. Rahal.

Dr. Rahal stared back at Sherlock, incredulously. “I know what you are implying detective and I assure you I had nothing to do with this. I love my job; I would never ever risk losing it.” Her voice quaking.

“Oh I believe you.” Sherlock responded calmly. “Dr. Hooper, when you complete the undressing I would like for you to specifically look for signs where an IV has been placed.”

“What?” Molly clarified.

“You heard me Molly.” Sherlock responded, his baritone voice reverberating beautifully off the walls.

“The mummy is now in it’s natural state. The last autopsy was paused after taking samples from under the nails. At this time I will continue my external examination of the body. There appears to be no damage or tampering done to the left hand. Moving upward, the left forearm and elbow appear to be in a natural state. On the Right side, all fingers and the hand appear unaltered. Moving upward the forearm and elbow appear to have…hold up. Sherlock. Bring me your cell phone in flashlight mode.”

Sherlock walked over and shone his light in the crook of the Mummy’s elbow.

Molly continued, “There appear to be traces of an IV administered, likely a 16 or 18 gauge judging by the perforation size.”

“Thank you Molly. Unless you deem it necessary, that is all the information I require for this case.”

“Alright. I will be ending my autopsy now.” She clicked the stop button on her recorder.  Molly began to rewrap the mummy.

“Dr. Hooper, that won’t be necessary. Once Mr. Holmes has identified the breach, the mummy will be moved to the museum for further study. However, thank you for your thoroughness.” Dr. Najjar spoke quietly. “Now, Mr. Holmes, care to fill us in?”

“Oh yes. I will indeed. Right after Dr. Rahal calls her husband.”

“No. Don’t make me do that.” Dr. Rahal quietly turned to face them. “Please.”

“You will call your husband and tell him it is time to pick you up or I will make sure you are removed from working on this project.” Sherlock threatened.

“Sherlock?” Molly had quietly packed her bag and was standing at his side. “Is it necessary to be that cruel?”

“Her husband is the culprit Molly. And I’m sure he’s the one who purposefullyy scared you out of the lab earlier today.” Sherlock spat out.

“Abdullah? No. He would never hurt anybody.” Dr. Rahal said, bringing her hands up to her face. “Please, there’s been some kind of mistake.”

Molly walked over to her. “I wasn’t hurt. But I was definitely scared out of my mind this morning. Can you please just call him Heba? We can get all of this straightenedd out I’m sure and then you can get back to working on the tomb. Don’t you want this moving mummy mystery solved. As well?”

Heba sat there for a moment looking utterly drained. “Alright Molly. I will call him. But please,” she looked to Sherlock and Dr. Najjar, “please hear him out.”

\------------------------

While they were waiting, Sherlock had of course refused to tell anyone else any of what he had deduced, telling them, “the clues are all here. Solve it yourself or wait a few more moments.”

 “I am paying you to solve this case, I demand you tell me what is going on!” Dr. Najjar barked.

“Or else what? You’ll sic a mummy on me?” Sherlock rolled his eyes.

“Sherlock, can you at least tell me anything?” Molly asked, pulling him close and whispering.

“No Molly, we all know the fun part is when I get to tell everyone how it was all done and get to show off my fancy brain.” He whispered back, winking.

Molly felt brave, “Yeah, I suppose it is kind of sexy.” She smiled up at him. Was Sherlock blushing??

It appeared as though his brain was short circuiting momentarily and he hardly noticed when Dr. Nazari walked in.

“Heba Darling, I hope your day was less crazy than mine but I do have some exciting news…” He stopped when he saw the scene taking place.

“Dr. Nazari.” Molly said, elbowing Sherlock back into the present time.

“Dr. Hooper. And…?”

“Holmes. Sherlock Holmes. World’s only consulting detective and the man who solved the case of the mysterious moving mummy. Really I only have one question since everything else is SO obvious. How much did you have to pay the guards to let you in and out with a body? Hmm? Can’t have been cheap?”

“I beg your pardon!” Dr. Nazari started

 “Please Abdullah. Just tell them so this can be over. I’m exhausted today. It hasn’t been a good one.” Dr. Rahal cut him off.

The color drained from his face. “Of course, Heba. But you must know, especially you Eslam, Heba had nothing to do with it. I took advantage of her access to the tomb. “

Dr. Najjar just sat there, “ I will need to hear the whole story before I make any pronouncements.”

“Stem Cells.” Sherlock interrupted.

“Pardon?” Dr. Najjar exclaimed.

“Dr. Nazari injected stem cells into the mummy in order to see how they reacted in a corpse that had been dead for thousands of years. While it would do no good on a large scale experiment since the heart is in fact missing from this mummy” Sherlock paused to look at Dr. Nazari like he was a total idiot “It did lead to some interesting test results. Such as live tissue samples.”

“Yes.” Dr. Nazari said quietly. He looked over to his wife before addressing Sherlock. “ Stem cell research is very controversial here. There is no practicing on anything alive. There is very little chance to even experiment in a controlled lab environment as well. Therefore, when Heba told me about this discovery, I thought I would have a chance to study them before this mummy was taken away to the museum.”

“You broke in and wrote the message?” Molly asked.

“Yes. I waited for the guard to relieve himself and crept in. I set up a transfusion, let it run all night, and made the Tomb look as though someone or something had broken in. I thought if I did that it would delay the Mummy being removed for a while and I could continue on with my studies. I never dreamed the Ministry would actually bring in a famous detective to investigate. I thought everyone would assume it was a prank.”

Dr. Najjar was pressing his hands into his eyes. “Our country is going to be a laughingstock! Frankenstein’s mummy in the 21st century!” he shouted.

“Please." Dr. Nazari continued, pleading "It was only done for research. You may have noticed. Heba is unwell much of the time. She has Multiple Sclerosis. There is only so much we can do for her. Pills, injections. They all have horrible side effects. She did not know about any of this until this morning. I could not stand to keep the secret from her any longer. Please. Punish me as long as you leave her out of this.”

Dr. Najjar was still fuming. “Do you have any idea how much the additional security has cost us!? Not to mention how much the government is shelling out to this consulting detective!!?!?!” He stuck his thumb out at Sherlock.

 “If I may,” Molly began. “While it is not up to me how any punishments should be doled out, I would like to add that I have heard a lot of chatter at the hotel and from the taxi driver that tourism in this region is actually up quite a bit since the whole Mummy story came out. Probably more than enough to pay for that extra security.”

Sherlock looked sideways at her and gave a small smile. “Indeed. Why not take the story and run with it? I’m not going to counteract the official position of your government. We could always say the results were inconclusive. Even for the world’s most famous detective. As for the hotel and jet fees, feel free to bill them to Mr. Mycroft Holmes. He owes me and Molly a Holiday or two any way after all the bollocks he’s put us through these past few years.”

Dr. Najjar seemed to give this a lot of thought before he spoke “Very well. But Dr. Rahal is not to study the mummy anymore and those samples must be destroyed. Dr. Rahal will be reallocated to the study of the items located in the tomb only and will not be allowed onsite anymore.”

“But Heba had nothing to do with it!” DR. Nazari cried out.

“It’s fine Abdullah. It’s a small price to pay for all the trouble we’ve found ourselves mixed up in.” Dr. Rahal had stood slowly and walked over to her husband. “Thank you Dr. Najjar. I truly appreciate it.”

Dr. Najjar made some sort of grunting noise.

“How did you sneak the mummy back in?” Molly asked, realizing this key part of the story had been omitted.

“Oh. Your friend is right, I bribed the guards. It didn’t cost too much, they are sick of standing around outside all say so I just brought them some money and cold drinks.” Abdullah shrugged.

“Well. If all that’s settled, Dr. Hooper and I will be off tomorrow morning. Lovely to meet all of you. Thanks for the holiday and the case.” Sherlock shook everyone’s hand.

“My lab at St. Bart’s is always open to you both.” Molly said, smiling. “As long as you don’t turn off the lights and growl at me.” She added.

“Abdullah!? Really?” Heba gave her husband a small smack on the chest.

“It was a small growl.”

Molly giggled.

\-------------------

“Ok Sherlock, when did you actually solve the case?” Molly asked between bites of her noodles.

“Well I had an idea when I saw the case file. As soon as I heard about a husband and a wife collaborating in the lab though, that’s when I knew where the trouble was.” He responded, sipping tea.

“You don’t think a husband and a wife can collaborate in their separate jobs?” Molly asked, slightly too defensively.

Sherlock looked at her and grinned. “Now now Molly, why so concerned on that particular point?”

Molly started to blush. “I dunno. I just feel like…you know. You should marry your best friend. At least one of your best friends. And shouldn’t you be able to do almost anything with your best friend?” She asked, a little sad.

“Yes. I suppose you should.” Sherlock replied with a small smile. “What’s bothering you Molly?”

“Well, the case made me a little sad. Just all of it. He wants to help his wife with her chronic illness but can’t. And I just wish that medicine had all of the answers for things like that. And selfishly,  I’m a little sad this case is over. It was almost like a holiday.”

Sherlock looked into Molly’s eyes, and ever so gently placed his hand on top of hers ““Well Molly, that’s the great thing about being me," he leaned in closer to her, "and being one of my best friends. There will always be another case.”


End file.
